Sunday, December 21

I have had a blog for just over 20 months, and I have reached and passed 100,000 views.. and 70,000 unique visitors. I use my blog as a very effective tool for my business.

I want to share with you a few steps I have take to reach this goal..

First:

You need to find topics that your readers look forward to... This will keep them coming back to read your blog.I started my blog with posting about my business and new products.... It eventually turned in to much more... I now feature Etsy shops on a weekly basis.. with the Super Saturday Shop Feature... Monday Top Ten... and the Mid Week Feature... I also run a monthly giveaway!

The topic that has raised the most traffic are my Etsy and blog tips... Writing pillar articles (500 words or more) is a very important step to gaining blog traffic. These articles have stickablilty.. they will be referenced many times if they contain useful and up-to-date info.

here are a few topics that I have covered in the last few months on my blog>>>>

* Learn how to run a killer advertising campaign on Project Wonderful for my etsy shop.... With these campaigns there are stats for tracking traffic* Step by step How To Video* I show you how I spend $10 for 1000 views* Question and Answer with Etsians on Project Wonderful* My list of recommended high traffic sites to advertise on* Long list of in-depth articles on Google Adwords

* Learn how to build a more user- friendly blog profile.* Post your Etsy mini in your blog profile* Step by step how to video all about the Etsy Mini* How to video on making hyperlinks for your blog and e-mails______________________________________________________

So in these pillar articles you will find how to videos which brings me to my next point.....

Providing your readers with how to anything is a great source of traffic(well maybe not anything:))One of the most popular how to vids that I made was the one for the Etsy mini.. that The Storque picked up and used in one of their articles(thanks BTW!!!)

More on content.... Blogs are not just for words but the visual aspect is very key.. take a poll and see what your readers think..about colors...layout..and even content... And also visual speaking.. you need to have killer pictures all over....___________________________________________________

Second.....

You need to create a community on your blog.. so this is always a bit tricky without a forum or a chat.. but it can be achieved with just your comments. Comments on your blog are a huge sign of social proof.... If you look around my blog you will see posts with a few comments and some with over 100.. If you create a post that is prompting your readers to leave a comment this will help.. things like "leave your comment about your favorite Christmas Movie".... or "post your comment to get featured"...

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Third.................

Promoting your blog for FREE and paid advertising...

Here are a list of FREE things that I do to promote my blog.

**Twitter:

I promote my blog on twitter.. I post links to my pillar articles...features...and blog events like the Top Ten Mondays.. and so on.I also use Twitterfeed.... this will automatically post my blog posts on Twitter

This is a cheap way to advertise on thousands of sites. You can advertise your blog or your Etsy shop. I use this everyday.. not only to generate traffic.. but to create income.... every penny i bring in I turn back into my advertising campaigns.

**Newsletter.......I have generated a newsletter from my blog over the past year.. I have just under 2000 subscribers.. this is by far my most powerful tool that I use. I have generated traffic and income from my list._____________________________________________________Commonly asked questions:

A> I use blogger because it is where I started my blog.. and i am familiar with it. It is FREE and very user friendly. There are endless possibilities with the html code. There are also tons of great FREE templates you can download to make your blog unique.

Q> Why do you blog?

A> I blog to help grow my online business and my online presence. The more you have out there the better chance someone will find you and your product. I also blog cause i love giving back to the Etsy community...

Q> Do you make money from blogging?

A> Yes... through ads and sponsors.. but that doesn't happen right away.. you have to work at it and build reader traffic before you gain advertising.

Q> Do you make direct sales from your blog?

A> Yes... I have confirmed direct sales from my blog. As far as numbers are concerned, it is very difficult to tell without any stats on Etsy.____________________________________________________

15 comments:

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Hey Tim! Great entry, very useful information that I intend to use this upcoming year. I started listing items on Etsy very casually last Feb., then a little bit more seriously when I added my stamps in June. In 2009 I hope to grow this into more than a hobby, and I know your tips will help. :)~Kim

as always, your info is spot on and huge help. I've taken your advice and written my own pillar article. It address things all business people can do to increase their effectiveness when creating any kind of visual communication.

This is a great list. Do you read Problogger? http://www.problogger.net I always recommend that site to anyone new to blogging who wants tips on becoming more successful in their blogging. (And particularly if their ultimate goal is to make money blogging.)

Three hours!? Holy cow. I'm a mom first, then an Etsy shop owner second. Recently I have TWO Etsy shops. I've blogged since February 2008, and have repeat readers, and 3,340 visitors. Not bad considering I opened my first Etsy shop this summer.

Though great advice, I'm amazed by your commitment! I'm definately doing a newsletter, and more in the future.